Drapery rod



INVENTORS. Jinan flosevzbery y/hl'fka 2 Sheets-Sheet l S. ROSENBERG "ETAL DRAPERY ROD V kn Dec. 19, 1961 Filed Aug. 10, 1959 n Faciarza.

ATTORNEYS Dec. 19, 1961 s. ROSENBERG ETAL DRAPERY ROD Filed Aug. 10,1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. v fiz'nwn. Kasenber;

ATTORNEYS United States Pmst" (3 3,613,603 DRAPERY ROD Simon Rosenberg,3721 Menlo, Shaker Heights 20, Ohio, and Anthony S. Faciana, 4173 148thSt., Cleveland 28, Ohio Filed Aug. 10, 1959, Ser. No. 832,674 8 Claims.(Cl. 160-342) This invention relates to a device for hanging drapes,curtains or the like, more particularly, to a device for hanging pleatedfabrics in which means are provided for controlling and maintaininguniform fold spacing.

A conventional form of drapery rod construction includes a slottedtubular rod having a plurality of small slides to which the folds of thedrapes are attached by hooks, and two master slides adapted to beactuated by a pull rope. Each master slide is attached to the inner edgeof a drape with the small slides connected to intermediate portions ofthe drape. The drapes are opened by moving each master slide toward anend of the rod thereby successively jamming the smaller slides againstone another. In closing the drapes, the slides are moved toward thecenter of the rod drawing the associated drapes with them.

Drapery rod construction of the type described has two pronounceddisadvantages. The first is that the individual small slides areineffective to uniformly space the pleats of the drape in a pleasingmanner. This results from the fact that movement of the drape isobtained only through movement of the attached master slide. Thus, whenthe drape is closed, the pleats will be relatively widely spaced apartnear the master slide and gradually bunched together near the end of therod. When the drape is 'opened, the reverse will be true, that is, thepleats near the master slide will be bunched together by the jammingaction, while the pleats near the end of the rod will be widely spacedapart. Secondly, the jamming of the slides together frequently causesone or more of them to cock or stick in the slot thereby prohibitingfurther movement of the drape. Further, since the hooks near the masterslides are subjected to substantially all of the force required to closethe drapes, they frequently bend and become disengaged from theirassociated slide.

It has been proposed to connect the individual slides by a lazy tongswhereby the slides will be uniformly spaced apart with concomitantuniform spacing of the pleats. In known structures of this type,however, the lazy tong is hung from the slides by wire hangers. Such aconstruction has been found objectionable since the hangers bend andbreak under the force required to move the drape. Moreover, it is apainstaking and time consuming task to connect the lazy tongs to thehangers and the hangers to the slides. The conventional lazy tongsitself is frequently complex in character and diffi-v cult todisassemble when it is necessary to remove or add lazy tongs sectionsbecause of varying drapery widths.

A general object of this invention is the provision of a drapery rod inwhich jamming and breaking of the slides is eliminated.

Another more particular object is to provide a drapery rod in which auniquely designed lazy tongs is utilized to control and maintain uniformspacing of the drapery pleats. I

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a drapery rodin which the force required to move the drapes is uniformly distributedover the slides. More specifically, it is an object to provide a draperyrod with a lazy tongs directly secured to each slide whereby movement ofone slide results in concomitant movement of all of the slides.

A further object of the invention is to provide a drapery rod, includinga lazy tongs directly secured to the slides drivers, pliers, and thelike.

Other objects and attendant advantages of our invention will becomereadily apparent as the same becomes better understood when consideredin connection with the following detailed description and in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of one end of a drapery rod embodying ourinvention in which portions thereof are broken away for the sake ofclarity.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken in the plane of line 22 ofFIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is another vertical sectional view taken along the line 33 ofFIGURE 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 4 is'a fragmentary sectional view of the lazy tongs taken alongthe line 44 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 1, but showing two bars of the lazytongs in a disengaged position about to be removed from the rod.

FIGURE 6 shows a front view of a modified form of the lazy tongscomprising part of our invention.

FIGURE 7 is a side view of a bar of the lazy tongs shown in FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 8 is a schematic view, partially in section, showing stillanother embodiment of our invention.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designatelike parts throughout the several views, the illustrated section of thedrapery rod embodying our invention is comprised generally of a slottedtubular rod 10 having a plurality of pleat guides, which may be in theform of rollers 14 mounted for movement in the slot 11. A master slide22 is reciprocally positioned in the slot while a lazy tongs 24 isconnected to the rod, slide and rollers. While only one-half of thedrapery rod has been shown in FIG. 1 for the purpose of clarity, it isto be understood that the severalparts indicated are duplicated on thecomplete rod.

Each of the roller slides includes an axle 15 with integrally joinedflanges 16 and 17, the flanges serving to maintain the rollers in theslot as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Each roller has an arm 18 depending fromthe flange 16, and an aperture 19 through the lower end of the arm. Intheir preferred form the rollers are nylon, but it is apparent that theymay be formed fro-m any suitable plastic as well as from metal.

In the form shown, the end of the rod has a bracket 12 adapted to befastened to a wall, and is provided with holes I3 which are horizontallyaligned with apertures 19 and holes 23 in the master slide. The holesand apertures receive hooks 21 which, in turn, are connected to theslides and intermediate portions of a drape or curtain. A cord 25 isdisposed in the tube it) and connected to the slide 22 in the usualmanner whereby the slide may be moved back and forth for opening andclosing the drape.

The l-azy tongs includes two series of crossed link bars 27 and 28pivotally joined together at their overlying portions to form upper,lower and intermediate joints. The lazy tongs may be fashioned from alightweight material such as polystyrene or from metal. In the formillustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the ends of the lazy tongs are boltedor otherwise rotatably fastened to the bracket 12 and to the masterslide, while the upper joints are screwed to the, flanges 16 of theslides by screws 20. Thus, when the lazy tongs is secured in position inthe manner described, the entire drapery rod forms a unitary PatentedDec. 19, 1961 structure which is ready for immediate installation without the necessity of subsequent assembly by the user.

As will be apparent from FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the screws 20 form rigidextensions of the axes of the upper joints of the lazy tongs 20 and areconnected to the pleat guides 14 so that the axes lie in a commonhorizontal plane which bisects the width of the slot 11. Because of thisconstruction, the upper joints of the lazy tongs are obviouslyconstrained for common rectilinear movement in a common path when thelazy tongs 29 is collapsed and expanded. In addition, translationalmovement of the upper joints relative to the pleat guides is prevented.As a result, movement of the upper joints when the lazy tongs iscollapsed and expanded will effect corresponding movement of the pleatguides and will be etfective to uniformly space the pleat guides onefrom another along the rod 10.

In practice it is often necessary to vary the number of rollers andhooks because of the differences in drapery widths. Thus, it isimperative that the lazy tongs be constructed in such a manner that thelink bars can be readily added or removed with a minimum amount ofeffort and skill. This is achieved according to the terms of ourinvention through a unique construction in which the lower andintermediate portions of the link bars are fastened together by means ofsnap fasteners 29. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, bars 28 are provided withintegrally connected female fastener elements 31 While the bars 27 areprovided with male fastener elements 32. When the bars are connectedtogether, the male elements are rotatably received within the femaleelements.

In order that the rollers may be expediently added or removed from therod, the longitudinal slot 11 is provided recesses 33 near its ends. Therecesses are of such size that the rollers may be either inserted orremoved from the slot by canting them sidewise and forcing them throughthe recess. Alternatively, the bracket 12 may be slid off the end of therod and the rollers removed or added through the end of the slot.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a drapery rod embodying ourinvention in which a roller with two attached link bars has beeninserted through recess 33 into the slot 11. The link bars can bequickly incorporated into the lazy tongs assembly by unsnapping bars Aand B and then reconnecting the link bars in the obvious manner. Two ormore link bars can be removed in the reverse manner; namely, byunsnapping the bars, rotating them to the position shown in FIGURE 5,and finally removing the roller from the slot.

In the alternative embodiment of our invention shown in FIG. 8, the linkbars can be releasably fastened to the rollers by means of thesnap-fastener arrangements 34 which, as in the case of the previouslydescribed screws 20, form rigid extensions of the axes of the upperjoints of the lazy tongs and are positioned in a common horizontal planebisecting the width of the slot 11 in the rod 20. With the structureillustrated, the bars may be unfastened from the rollers before removingthe rollers from the track. In some instances, this construction mayresult in increased ease in assembly and disassembly. Moreover, if alink bar becomes damaged, it can be quickly replaced without need ofscrewdrivers, pliers, or other tools.

It will be apparent from the above description that with a drapery rodconstructed as described, movement of the master slide will cause thelazy tongs to expand or collapse thus causing all of the rollers to bemoved whereby uniform fold spacing is maintained. Further, the forcerequired to move the drapes is transmitted over all of the bars of thelazy tongs rather than being concentrated on one or two of the rollersas is the case when the lazy tongs connection is eliminated. The directconnection of the lazy tongs to the rollers instead of having interposedwire hangers results in a more stable structure, since the upper jointsof the lazy tongs are restrained against translational movement relativeto the pleat guides. Thus, when the lazy tongs is collapsed andexpanded, the resulting rectilinear movement of the upper joints of thelazy tongs will not cause the pleat guides to cock and jam in the slot.Another advantage is that the lazy tongs will not swing out of itsnormal vertical plane when relatively heavy drapes are engaged on thehooks 21 and will thus support the drapes with their pleats in verticalalignment.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, each link bar 28 is formed witha leg 35 which is adapted to nest within a pleat of the drape. Thus, thelegs provide a positive engagement with the drape which enhances theability of the structure to maintain uniform fold spacing since each legserves to pull or push its associated pleat as the master slide ismoved.

Obviously, many other modifications and variations of the presentinvention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It istherefore to be understood, that within the scope of the appendedclaims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specificallydisclosed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a drapery rod structure for hanging pleated fabrics including aslotted tube and a plurality of rollers and a master slide movable alongthe slot, the improvement comprising two series of crossed bars arrangedto form a lazy tongs having upper, lower, and intermediate joints, saidlazy tongs having one end connected to said master slide and having itsother end connected to one end of said tube, the upper joints of saidlazy tongs being sccured directly to the rollers, and a plurality ofpleatspacing legs on the bottoms of the bars of one series adjacent eachof said lower joints, said legs being perpendicular to the bars andbeing engageable within the pleats of the fabric, whereby movement ofsaid master slide will produce corresponding movement of said rollersand pleat spacing legs.

2. The structure as claimed in claim 1 in which the intermediate andlower joints of said lazy tongs are formed by releasable fasteningmeans, and wherein said upper joints are detachably connected to saidrollers, whereby said bars can be readily added and removed from saidlazy tongs to permit the corresponding addition and removal of rollersfrom said slot.

3. The structure as claimed in claim 2 in which the joints of said lazytongs are formed by snap-fasteners, and wherein said upper joints aresecured to said rollers by snap-fasteners.

4. A drapery rod adapted for hanging pleated fabrics comprising atubular rod having a longitudinal slot in one side, a plurality of pleatguides slidably mounted in said slot, means on said pleat guides formounting drapery hooks, at least one master slide slidably mounted insaid slot, a lazy tongs comprising two series of crossed bars. said barsbeing joined at their overlying portions to form upper, lower andintermediate joints, said upper joints being secured directly to saidpleat guides and one end of said lazy tongs being secured to said masterslide whereby movement of said master slide will produce substantiallyuniform movement of each pleat guide, said intermediate and lower jointsbeing formed by releasable snap-fasteners, and pleat-engaging legsprovided on the bars of one series adjacent said lower joints, said legsbeing in vertical alignment with said pleat guides and extendingsubstantially perpendicular to the plane of said lazy tongs.

5. The structure as claimed in claim 4 in which said upper joints ofsaid lazy tongs are formed by releasable snap-fasteners and are joinedto said pleat guides by releasable snapfasteners.

6. A drapery rod comprising a tubular rod having a longitudinal slot inone side extending parallel to the axis of said rod, a master slidemovable in said slot, at plurality of pleat guides slidably mounted insaid slot between said master slide and one end of said rod, a pair oflink bars depending from each of said pleat guides, means pivotallyinterconnecting the upper, lower and intermediate portions of said linkbars to form a lazy tongs having upper, lower and intermediate joints,said lazy tongs having its end link bars connected to said master slideand to said one end of said rod so that movement of said master slidetoward and away from said one end of said rod will cause said lazy tongsto respectively collapse and expand, and means securing each upper jointof said lazy tongs to said pleat guides, said securing means formingrigid extensions of the axes of said upper joints and being connected tosaid pleat guides so that the axes of said upper joints lie in a commonhorizontal plane bisecting the width of said longitudinal slot, wherebysaid upper joints are constrained for common rectilinear motion in acommon path when said lazy tongs is collapsed and expanded and havetheir axes restrained against translational movement relative to saidpleat guides.

7. The drapery rod as claimed in claim 6 wherein said means pivotallyinterconnecting the intermediate and lower portions of said link barscomprise releasable fastening means for permitting said pairs of linkbars to be readily and repeatedly connected and disconnected, wherebypleat guides having pairs of link bars secured thereto by said securingmeans can be added and removed from said slot.

8. In a drapery rod structure comprising a slotted tube, a master slidemovable in the slot longitudinally of the tube, and a plurality of pleatguides slidably mounted in said slot between said master slide and oneend of said tube, the improvement comprising a plurality ofcorresponding link bars, means pivotally connecting said link bars attheir ends and centers to form a lazy tongs having upper, lower, andintermediate joints, said lazy tongs having its end link bars connectedto said master slide and to said end of said tube so that movement ofsaid master slide toward and away from said one end of said tube willcause said lazy tongs to respectively collapse and expand, and meansfixedly securing said upper joints of said lazy tongs to said pleatguides and holding said upper joints in a common plane, said securingmeans including the pivot means forming the upper joints of said lazytongs and rigid extensions thereof, said rigid extensions beingrelatively fixedly connected to said pleat guides so that said upperjoints are restrained against translational movement relative to saidpleat guides and are further restrained for common rectilinear motion insaid common plane when said lazy tongs is collapsed and expanded.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,749,191 Nordell Mar. 4, 1930 1,868,944 Jones July 26, 1932 2,528,848Weinzimmer Nov. 7, 1950 2,672,929 Eggert Mar. 23, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS472,629 Germany Mar. 4, 1929 720,616 France July 25, 1931

